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Lo Chee Hoe

Putting Theory into Practice

Former Nilai U Valedictorian enjoying the challenges of being a trainer in the corporate world.

When you meet Lo Chee Hoe today, he is a confident, impeccably-attired, young professional. He shakes your hand firmly and is quite clearly comfortable with the roles and responsibilities he has been given as a Training Executive at Skynet Worlwide (M) Sdn Bhd’s Human Resource and Training department. After all, he has been preparing for life in the corporate world these last few years. Firstly, with a BBA (Hons) in Human Resource Management which he gained at Nilai University (Nilai U) before going on to do a MSc in Management Psychology. But ask anyone who knew Chee Hoe when he first joined Nilai U and they will describe a painfully shy boy who only spoke when spoken to. Nilai U lecturers remember him as a bright young lad but one who needed guidance and coaxing out of his shell.

Chee Hoe laughs when reminded of his introverted self of yore and credits his varsity years for moulding him into the confident, capable young man he is today. “I was painfully aware that I was quite reserved and found it quite difficult to speak in public during presentations or even in social settings,” recalls the Sandakan native. “So one of the first things I did was to join the Toastmasters club and I was soon arranging the activities of the club. This experience certainly helped me with the planning and organizing of events.” Having overcome his fear of public speaking, Chee Hoe was looking for ways to take his soft skills training onto another level.

That opportunity came to him when he was advised to do his internship at Nilai U’s Corporate Communications department. Though not directly related to his programme, Chee Hoe took the plunge as he believed it would be to his advantage to build a varied résumé. “I wanted to challenge myself and learn new things. This was a great opportunity to learn new things,” he says. As luck would have it, the department was organizing a series of events and activities for visiting secondary schools and Chee Hoe was given the opportunity to put his training and human resource skills to the test. This was going to be tough as he needed to put together a series of activities and talks for restless teens! “As it turned out, the visiting students really seemed to enjoy my sessions and this experience has certainly helped me with the organizing of training sessions and similar events in my company today.” He also served as President of the Students’ Representative Council and was instrumental in organizing the university’s first corporate social responsibility events. With such a wealth of experience, Chee Hoe was made Chairman of Skynet Outreach Initiatives, a committee established to undertake a wide variety of initiatives in the community.

On the academic front, Chee Hoe was appointed Student Chairman of the Curriculum Review Committee for Nilai U’s School of Business. The committee’s primary role was to garner feedback from the students pertaining to the course content, assignments, teaching staff and other academic-related matters and propose workable solutions to the School. “This experience was helpful when I was assigned to govern and redesign the internship programme in Skynet. I managed to establish a common understanding when liaising with the career development unit staff and accommodating the learning outcomes outlined by the academic supervisors. The internship programme of the company is now well received by both public and private institutions,” he explains.

As for the degree programme itself, Chee Hoe says the modules designed for Human Resource Management students are complete, encompassing human resource planning, labour economics, international human resource management, human resource development, industrial relations, workplace health and safety, and human resource information system. Students are also required to take subjects in marketing, accounting, management, economics and law, allowing them to appreciate and understand the different aspects of business. “I am now able to see the big picture when I am trying to generate training plans that are aligned with corporate strategies, annual budget, manpower forecast, and staff development chart,” he says.

Chee Hoe is keen to stress to school leavers and fresh graduates alike that while paper qualifications are important, they should not be pursued merely as a means to a fatter pay cheque. “Learning is a lifelong process. We must be open-minded to absorb new lessons and to know how best to disseminate or utilize this knowledge and skills, especially in the context of human resource management where we are dealing with real people,” he counsels. “Keep learning with an open mind and one day, your ideas will be able to change lives.”

Nilai U is located in the picturesque suburb of Putra Nilai and is just 35-minutes south of Kuala Lumpur City Centre. For more information, please go to www.nilai.edu.my or search for ‘Nilai University’ on Facebook. To speak to a counselor, kindly call 06-8502308 / 07-2262336 / 03-79603089.